Preparations (and lessons) for podcast #1

Preparations underway. The podcast is mostly finished. I’ll need to set up a specific feed, and upload it its “final destination” –ourmedia.org, I hope. Re-learn old stuff (Everything takes longer than you think). Learn new stuff: What’s that curve? How can I make it go away? It’s DC offset , which happens when recording on portable digital media–in this case, an iPod. New stuff will find its way into a lengthier explanation here at a later date.

It’s all a matter of working with digital audio, to be sure. There’s a happy overlap for podcasters to apply their equipment and skills to family history. But there are differences, too.

When doing a family history and thinking about the final output, I mentally apply the 80-year test: Will this be readable and findable 80 years from now? Why 80 years? well… if you see that small stack of letters in the sidebar, those are from a family attic. Postmarked in the 1920s and 1930s. 80-plus years later, I can read them, after a bit of puzzling out handwriting qualities. What about the person 80 years from now?

When doing a podcast, I’m taking a cue from one of my audio heroes, Doug Kaye, I’m thinking, “Will this be audible by someone who’s plugged their MP3 player into the car while driving in rush hour traffic… and the next lane over has the rumbling of several huge trucks?

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Family Stories. Everyone has 'em.

They tell where you come from. They hold secrets to who you are. This site explores how to use digital tools and media to record and preserve spoken memories of family members. Your host: Susan A. Kitchens (I got into this by talking to my grandpa; at the time he was 99 years old.)